# MassLive.com — user reviews > 76 indexed App Store user reviews of MassLive.com by MassLive.com, rated 4.50/5 from 5,996 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/masslivecom/id419879721/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/masslivecom/id419879721.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 4,214 · 4★ 1,009 · 3★ 370 · 2★ 138 · 1★ 265 ## What do users think of MassLive.com? Overall sentiment: negative **Pros** - 💯 Great coverage of important news - 📰 Excellent local and state news - 🏆 Best news and sports outlet for Massachusetts **Cons** - ⏱️ Slow and glitchy performance - 💰 Expensive subscription model - 📢 Too many ads even with subscription - 🗞️ Biased and sensationalist reporting - 🔍 Difficult to navigate and find content **Commonly reported bugs** - Login and account issues after updates - Frequent crashes and freezes - Broken comment and sharing functionality **Most requested features** - Separate sports and news sections - Improved search and filtering options - Ability to customize content feed - Offline reading mode ## Newest reviews (19 of 76) ### 2/5 — Fix the obituary section *2026-08-06* Since they did the update on the mass live app you can no longer search or filter obits. This ridiculous the update should have made it better. I have a subscription to mass live now I regret renewing it for the year. ### 2/5 — Too difficult *2026-08-02* I used to love this app as I can no longer afford to get the newspaper. I read several items on a daily basis and there seems to be no way to get App support. I especially miss getting to the obituaries. I am 82 and I never know when someone I knew or worked with has died. Please someone update the app so it works. I pay for it to work on a daily basis. I may need to reluctantly decided to delete the app. No obits, no sports info, etc. this happened just after the latest update. Prior to that it was working very well. PLEASE CHANGE THE WAY THE OBITS ARE PRESENTED. NOT JUST THE NAMES SCATTERED SUCH THAT I CAN NOT FIND THE FULL OBIT FOR EACH PERSON. MAKE IT LIKE IT WAS BEFORE. ### 2/5 — Too slow *2026-07-29* I love this app as I can no longer afford to get the newspaper. However, recently, it has slowed to a crawl and then freezes on me. I read several items on a daily basis and there seems to be no way to get App support. I especially miss getting to the obituaries. I am 82 and I never know when someone I knew or worked with has died. Please someone update the app so it works. I pay for it to work on a daily basis. I have reluctantly decided to delete the app. The only working part of the app were the two sections called top news and recent news. No obits, no sports info, etc. this happened just after the latest update. Prior to that it was working very well. PLEASE CHANGE THE WAY THE OBITS ARE PRESENTED. NOT JUST THE NAMES SCATTERED SO I NEED TO INDIVIDUALLY POKE ON EACH NAME TO SEE IF IKNOW THE PERSON. MAKE IT LIKE IT WAS BEFORE. ### 2/5 — Slow and invasive *2026-06-12* App sits on blank white screen for the better part of a minute before news loads. Then after you’ve been there awhile it starts taking you to ads you didn’t click. I would never click an ad and definitely never want to be taken to an ad against my will. That’s a cybersecurity nightmare. Will be deleting. ### 2/5 — Too slow *2025-11-27* I love this app as I can no longer afford to get the newspaper. However, recently, it has slowed to a crawl and then freezes on me. I read several items on a daily basis and there seems to be no way to get App support. I especially miss getting to the obituaries. I am 82 and I never know when someone I knew or worked with has died. Please someone update the app so it works. I pay for it to work on a daily basis. ### 2/5 — Too slow *2025-10-14* I love this app as I can no longer afford to get the newspaper. However, recently, it has slowed to a crawl and then freezes on me. I read several items on a daily basis and there seems to be no way to get App support. ### 3/5 — So many junk ads *2025-02-22* I downloaded this to stay on top of local news. My first impression is that the app does have a good range of local stories. Unfortunately, it’s also inundated with junk ads- diet fads, singles sites, etc. Not sure if those are removed with a subscription? ### 3/5 — Great content but… *2023-08-23* MassLive is arguably the best news source in Massachusetts. The sports coverage is phenomenal. There is more local news from around the state than anywhere else. That being said, the app design is clunky and not easy to navigate. I hope they can redesign it to resemble the kind of first tier news source that it could be. ### 2/5 — Too many ads with expensive subscription *2023-06-09, version 4.3.3* For 10.00 a month there shouldn’t be any ads. There is no difference between free and premium with ads. Premium should not have ads absolutely everywhere. ### 2/5 — Increasingly Sensationalist *2022-10-07* I recently deleted this app because of some troubling trends I’ve been noticing, and after reading other reviews, I don’t think I’m alone. You’d expect local journalists to be as impartial and professional as possible, but in recent years I’ve noticed that a frustrating amount of articles seem to be desperate to appeal to a progressive audience, which makes sense given Massachusetts is a blue state, but too often it feels like it’s coming at the expense of actual journalism, relying on insulting sociopolitical buzzwords that just feel like they’re designed to actively divide audiences more than they already are. And before you boil it down to knee jerk partisanship, A) I’m more politically moderate than anything, and B) even AllSides, a news watchdog website, has outright stated that their articles often lean left of center. But honestly, it’s not their political leanings, but more the obnoxious clickbait titles are with loaded language that ruin things for me. I think for new for the Western Massachusetts area, I’ll stick with the reminder, or even 22 or Western Mass News, because MassLive has indicated that they have no interest in real journalism anymore, just sensationalist nonsense like BuzzFeed or the Daily Mail. ### 2/5 — Worst website *2022-09-11, version 4.2.20* Extremely slow, back buttons sometimes don’t work, obits horribly slow. Get a new IT team! ### 1/5 — Why do I have to pay? *2021-04-04, version 4.0.11* Why do I have to pay to read local news in this app when I can read it for free in other apps? This used to be my go to for the news. ### 1/5 — Subscription... Really? *2021-02-12, version 4.0.8* Why would someone pay for local news coverage that’s available for free on several other apps. DELETE ... ### 1/5 — Subscriber Exclusive *2021-02-07, version 4.0.7* MassLive was my #1 source for local news until it switched to a subscription model. Unfortunately, I don’t visit the site much anymore and I rely on other sources for my local news. I would definitely go back to MassLive if it moved on from a subscription model but until then the cost isn’t worth the content. ### 1/5 — Superfluous *2021-01-20, version 4.0.7* MassLive has changed so that to read most stories you have to pay for their service. This is just another change to the site on top of their overly biased reporting and poor quality of writing that ruined the app. There are plenty of other news apps out there and they have just made themselves obsolete!!! ### 1/5 — They put up a paywall *2021-01-18, version 4.0.7* This app used to be ok it had decent news content. Now everything is behind a paid subscription for $10 a month that’s insane. I’ll be deleting this app as it has become totally useless now. ### 1/5 — Used to be at least ok *2020-12-26, version 4.0.1* Always has had a Liberal point of view but there were still other fair content. This new pay for will never fly and I think there will be steady deleting of the app. Price is to high for most of us. Garbage in garbage out. ### 1/5 — New app is horrible *2020-12-13, version 4.0.1* New app is useless on phone. Confusing layout. Deleting it ### 1/5 — News if you can afford it *2020-12-11, version 4.0.1* MassLive, formally a bastion of information about the communities in which we live, has chosen to only provide their important local journalism to those members of the community wealthy enough to pay $9.99/month. Shame on you MassLive. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Rip off *2026-07-03, version 4.5.11* I paid 99$ for an annual digital access then have to pay an extra 9.99 for subscriber exclusive content. Over priced. Read the fine print, unfortunately I didn’t. ### 1/5 — Scam ads popup every 3 seconds *2026-06-19, version 4.5.11* Useless cant use it at all, ads just popup onto another browser so annoying ### 1/5 — Fix pop up ads *2026-06-18, version 4.5.11* Aweful app. Can’t scroll an article without an ad popping up. Not renewing when my subscription expires ### 1/5 — Too slow *2025-12-05* I love this app as I can no longer afford to get the newspaper. However, recently, it has slowed to a crawl and then freezes on me. I read several items on a daily basis and there seems to be no way to get App support. I especially miss getting to the obituaries. I am 82 and I never know when someone I knew or worked with has died. Please someone update the app so it works. I pay for it to work on a daily basis. I have reluctantly decided to delete the app. The only working part of the app were the two sections called top news and recent news. No obits, no sports info, etc. this happened just after the latest update. Prior to that it was working very well. ### 1/5 — Unusable after recent update *2025-11-05* The app is ridiculously slow since the recent update and once a story finally loads, the scrolling is glitchy to the point of making stories unreadable. And if I switch to another app, I notice my whole phone is slow unless I exit the MassLive app. If this doesn’t get fixed there is no reason to keep my subscription. ### 1/5 — Terrible app *2025-01-24, version 4.4.31* The app refuses to load fresh news items. The search functionality doesn’t work. Total garbage. Littered with pop-up ads asking you to subscribe, when you are already a subscriber. ### 1/5 — acct broken after update *2024-12-31, version 4.4.29* Can't view subscriber articles every time there is an update. Won't be subscribing anymore ### 1/5 — Glitchy and difficult to share articles *2024-10-13* It is extremely difficult to share articles with other subscribers. Also, when you click on links in their email newsletter, the redirect to their app is very glitchy and doesn’t work a lot of times. ### 1/5 — I wouldn’t waste a dime on this rag. *2023-03-26, version 4.2.33* Nothing but liberal Democrat propaganda. ### 1/5 — Purchased all local news sources and locked them behind a paywall *2022-03-02, version 4.2.3* Use to be my favorite source for news. They gave it a beautiful makeover that seemed to cut down on the content available in general. Then they decided to charge 9.99 a month. It’s fine I understand everyone needs to make money. Some articles are free some are locked. They are locking the essential information about COVID for the state behind a paywall. Terrible business practice. Any information pertaining to what rules we need to follow for a pandemic should not be locked behind a paywall. I am deleting the app after many years. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Subscription *2026-05-09* I’ve subscribed any nothing changes I still can’t read the complete story. ### 5/5 — The greatest news and sports outlet for Massachusetts *2020-05-17, version 3.9.2* Ease of use, content and up to date ### 5/5 — Great place to keep up on state a local western MA news! *2020-04-19, version 3.9.2* Title says it all ### 5/5 — Great coverage of important news that matters to MA residents *2019-10-14, version 3.7.21* In addition to top news stories MassLive also provides the very best coverage of local news. ### 5/5 — Scott C. Is your best writer. Journalists. *2019-10-04, version 3.7.21* Scott Croteau is your best. Mass Live fan. ### 5/5 — Love MASS LIVE *2019-09-01* I now live in the Boston area after living in Western Mass for many years. It’s my way to stay connected with what’s happening in my favorite part of the state. I have followed my grandchildren through high school sports, seen the happy and sad news regarding friends and former colleagues and am very appreciative of the great job you do in covering the beautiful Pioneer Valley. Thank you. Ellen Ortyl ### 5/5 — Mass live review *2019-08-29* The app needs to be a bit more updated. Difficult at times to get info from specific high schools. Merideth perry is fantastic at her job and writes an objective article. Very good writer ### 5/5 — Great news service *2019-06-24* Look forward to news and articles. Thank you ### 5/5 — Mass live *2019-06-22, version 3.7.16* Great ### 5/5 — Mass Live Review *2019-05-31, version 3.7.15* Always great local news love it. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-26.*